Daytona Breakers: These women are tackling football's barriers

Friday

Apr 25, 2014 at 10:34 AMApr 25, 2014 at 3:55 PM

Kimberly Shapiro spends her days in the medical field. Her evening field has hash marks and goal posts.

By Brian Linderbrian.linder@news-jrnl.com

ORMOND BEACH — Kimberly Shapiro spends her days in the medical field.Her evening field has hash marks and goal posts.On that field, she zips 20-yard spirals as the quarterback for the Daytona Breakers women's tackle football team.But before you offer any snide comments about Shapiro “playing like a girl,” she suggests checking out the Breakers' home opener Saturday.Daytona (1-1) is hosting the Tennessee Train at 7 p.m. at Ormond Beach Sports Complex.Shapiro, 27, promises a brand of football that's far removed from your mother's days of powder puff. “Once you are on the ground, you get a few punches in the side,” the 5-foot-4, 112-pound Shapiro said. “There is no mercy.”Shapiro, 27, said when it comes to intensity, the female players in the 42-team Women's Football Alliance are no different than the men who play in the NFL.The Boca Raton native and former flag football, lacrosse and softball player is one of the leaders of the Breakers — an eclectic group that has come together to dispel the notion tackle football is strictly for the boys.The team is the brainchild of eight-year NFL veteran Vestee Jackson. Jackson, 50, spent time with the Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins as a defensive back in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He said he moved to Deltona from Chicago three years ago to escape the cold. Jackson said he started the Breakers to give women a chance to experience the thrill of football.Females from all walks of life have answered the call.Daytona's 32-player roster consists of an Iraqi war vet, a police officer, a former Bethune-Cookman tennis player, several college students and, of course, Shapiro — a physician's assistant with a masters in medical science.Jackson said the team's youngest player is 17 — she's eligible to play because her mother signed a permission slip — and the oldest is 46. The Breakers' tallest player is 6-foot, and their shortest 5-1. Their heaviest player is 308 pounds, and the lightest 110. Matthew Shapiro — Daytona's general manager, Kimberly's husband and an attorney — has enjoyed watching friendships develop on the field.“I see an individual in her 40s talking to someone who is 19 and going to college,” he said. “Literally, they have nothing in common, except the game of football.”And, it's clear this group loves football.The World Football Alliance prohibits players from being paid, and athletes must pay a league fee to participate.Defensive end Kaelie Smith, 31, grew up playing baseball with the boys in DeLand. She takes classes at Stetson and said she did two tours in Iraq.“I missed the camaraderie that I had in the Army,” Smith said. “I was hoping to find that with this, and I did.”Wide receiver Jennifer Sunseri, 21, said she grew up in Orlando playing football with the boys.“They were scared of me,” she said. “I'd always push them down hard.”Julie Bursee, 19, is a running back and kicker, who played soccer and lifted weights in high school. When she saw an opportunity to play football, she had to give it a try.She's enjoyed debunking the whole “play like a girl” stereotype.“We hit hard — very hard,” Bursee said.Darold Williams, the team's head coach, said that when the pads are on, not much separates the ladies from the fellows.Last week against Orlando, Williams said the Breakers were flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after a fight.“But it was Orlando's girl that threw the punch,” he said with a laugh.“You think the women would kind of pat the other ones on the head and show a little motherly love, but they are out there growling at each other. And you hear some not-so-good things. It's just like the men.”